If you’re not sure solar power is the answer that will work for you, and you would like to try it out before you make a big commitment, there is a way to try it. Solar panels can be there when you need them and there are a variety of ways that you can produce your own electricity with solar panels to see if it will truly fit your lifestyle.
We use three different types of solar panels on our property and they took just minutes to hook up. They are separated systems so if one panel doesn’t work the others still will. Panels are easy and fast to replace. Wiring, fuses, and batteries for these solar panels can be purchased locally.
A large solar panel in our garden area charges a battery for outdoor lights. A controller regulates the charge to the battery and turns the lights on at the appropriate time. It was very easy to wire and the connections were all labeled.
A second, smaller solar panel is incorporated into an electric fence charger. This has been a fast and easy way to set up electric fences on our property to keep deer and predators out. The panel/fence charger is hung on a fence post and a grounding rod is pounded into the soil, and the wires are attached to the ground rod and fence. This unit is easy to move around.
Our third solar panel charges a battery to turn lights on for our chickens. No, chickens don’t stay up at night reading. They do, however, need about 14 hours of light a day to continue laying eggs. Because the chicken coop was a distance from a power source, it was easier to hook up a solar panel, battery, and timer to use some LED lights for illumination. The lights are only on for a few hours an evening so we didn’t need a very big panel.
Contact us at Eco-Building & Forestry if you would like to experiment or need help with designing solar panels that will fit your landscape and lifestyle. |
